To Give Anything Less Than Your Best is to Sacrifice the GiftSteve Prefontaine

By Brian PreeceFor the Deseret NewsLEHI — Skyridge won its fourth straight Region 8 volleyball match and its 12th straight set along the way in defeating Timpanogos Tuesday night.The Falcons swept Timpanogos 25-14, 25-7, 26-24 to run their mark to 4-0 in the Region 8 standings. Along the way, Skyridge has not dropped a single set, though Timpanogos came awfully close in the third.

The Timberwolves led throughout the third set, staking themselves out to a formidable 20-14 lead. But at that point Skyridge, thanks to the tough serving of Kenadee Christensen, ran off seven straight points to take a 21-20 lead before Timpanogos finally won a point. Skyridge got it 24-22, but Timpanogos rallied to score two more points before the Falcons put the match away.Christensen had 14 service points in the match, including two aces, to pace the Falcon attack. She had a team-high 12 kills as well, including a big one that helped Skyridge take a 25-24 lead in the last set.

Serving dominance was the key for the Falcons. Sherstin Pond was the star from the service line in the second set as she served nine straight points as the Falcons soared to an easy 25-7 win. In the first set, Kaitlin Standifird did the damage. On the night, she had three aces and served on 12 of Skyridge's points earned.

These big runs where the tough serving took Timpanogos out of his system were the keys to victory.

"Sherstin (Pond) had a big night serving, especially when we needed it," said Falcon head coach Deanna Meyer.But Meyer also praised the defense and passing particularly noting the strong play of senior setter Cici Hauver.

"Defense and passing was big and Cici had a solid night," Meyer said. "I think in the first two sets we played well and executed the things we worked in practice. In the third set, we lost a little focus but found a way to win."

​Hauver agreed.

"I thought we played with a lot of energy in the first two games," Hauver said. The energy went down (in the third game), but we were able to come back and win."Hauver had 15 assists as she shares setting duties with Standifird, who had 24 on the night. Standifird also had seven kills.

Reagan Calton had 15 digs and eight of those digs were conversions to points while Emilee Rupp had three block assists and one solo block to pace the defense. Alice Ellsworth was effective as well both in the serve game and at the net.​Skyridge will now travel to Chicago for a weekend tournament before resuming league play next week.

PROVO — Last week was extremely rough for the Skyridge volleyball team as it lost three starters.Outside hitter Sherstin Pond injured her ankle in practice and in the first-round game of the gold bracket of the Wasatch Volleyball Festival Saturday, setters Cici Hauver and Kaitlin Standifird collided diving for the volleyball and both ended up getting concussions.This forced Falcon head coach Deanna Meyer to rely on her bench and the reserves came through as Skyridge (1-0) easily defeated Provo (0-1) 25-9, 25-12, 25-8 Thursday night to open up Region 8 play.

"We had to go to our bench and the kids stepped up," said Meyer. "It was nice to see them play hard and play strong."

Meyer had to be concerned losing both her setters going into league play, but sophomore Kate Jensen was excellent quarterbacking both the offense and shining from the service line.Jensen had 13 service points in the first set, including four aces. Jensen ended up with five aces in the match and was the server on 21 of Skyridge's points.While Jensen was filling her role admirably, another sophomore had another huge game as Naomi Pulu led the Falcons with 12 kills. Junior Kenadee Christensen added five kills and senior Brinley Watkins had four.

With the match in hand, Meyer also found time for hitters Ellie Slater and Shaylee Cuff and Meyer was pleased with their play.

"I thought our bench players kept our level of play high," Meyer said.Provo did have some bright spots, including the play of Emma Mercer, who had nine digs and was effective passing from her libero position.​Brian Preece is a freelance sportswriter. He was also the head wrestling coach from Provo High School from 1994-2006 and in 2006 Preece was named as the Utah Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

Pleasant Grove swept Skyridge 25-15, 25-15, 25-18 in a preseason volleyball tilt Tuesday night, exhibiting a dominant offensive and defensive presence that could carry Pleasant Grove to the inaugural 6A state title.The Vikings (2-0) have been a force in the state’s largest classification for more than a decade and served notice that nothing has changed in 2017, even though the largest classification is now 6A rather than 5A.“Our culture is secure every year,” said Pleasant Grove head coach Allyce Jones. “This team is as special as the last one.”Skyridge is definitely an up-and-coming program as the school enters its second year of existence, but the Falcons, who came into this match with a 2-0 record, were simply overmatched. But that was okay with Falcon head coach Deanna Meyer, who previously coached at Lone Peak for 16 seasons winning five state titles and placing second four times and whose fiercest rival was Pleasant Grove.“I wanted this match because it would show us what we needed to work on and that we need to keep working hard,” stated Meyer.Meyer also had high praises for Viking middle blocker and outside hitter Heather Gneiting.“Gneiting is a great player, I really think she could be an All-American this year,” Meyer added.Jones echoed the praise of the opposing coach.“Heather (Gneiting) is an incredible athlete,” she said. “We want to set her the ball more (at outside hitter) and her passing is incredible.”Gneiting had 12 kills in the match and hit an stratospheric .625. Gneiting was backed up by Kazna Tarawhiti, who had seven kills, while Bryton Bishop added six. Megan Sintay also added six kills and earned the praises of her coach.“When she (Sintay) comes in, she comes in firing and lights us up,” Jones said.The Vikings used a duo to quarterback the offense and both Bailey Bishop and Alia Rasmussen were stellar getting 17 and 15 assists, respectively.The Vikings were in control most of the evening, though they trailed 10-6 in the third set. But then Pleasant Grove scored six straight points to go ahead 12-10 before Skyridge used a timeout and got a point after that. But Pleasant Grove never trailed and methodically pulled away to claim the third set 25-18. One of the keys to the Viking success was the serving of Rasmussen who had six aces.Skyridge was led by Emilee Rupp who had five kills while setter Cici Hauver had a solid game with 11 assists. Reagan Calton paced the Falcon defense with eight digs.

Thank You Everyone For a Great Tryout!We are sorry we can't keep everyone but we will be having some clinic on Saturdays that you can come to and get some more training. There

The following girls will need to be at practice on Monday at 4:00 PM to 6:00 Please answer the following questionnaire if you are accepting your positionCost will be $150 please pay at the Skyridge Student Finance office.Practices will be Monday and Friday from 4-6 Games are on Wednesday and will be played at PG

We will be holding Jr. High Tryouts Wednesday August 23rd from 3-5 in the main gym.​If you are in 6th-8th grade you can tryout.

There will be two teams coached by Skyridge Varsity players and coaches. Cost will be $150. You will receive a Alpine league shirt and a Skyridge volleyball shirt. Players must attend practice. Monday and Fridays Times to be determined Game are Wednesday nights at Pleasant Grove.

I just wanted to thank everyone who has come out for the 2017 Skyridge Volleyball team.tryouts.We have been very impressed with the number of talented young ladies in the gym. It is always hard to tryout for a team and can be very scary and disappointing if you don't make it, but going through these experience can be great learning opportunities. Please know if you didn't make the team that "Volleyball is something that you do, and does not define who you are"

Please remember there are many opportunities to continue to play volleyball and I encourage you to continue to participate in this wonderful sport as well as get involved in the hundreds of clubs Skyridge has to offer. Go Falcons!

If you find you didn't make the team and would like to continue to be a member of the program we would love to have you be a team manager. You can email me or come by and see before or after tryout-practice time @Coach Meyer an email.

Freshman and Sophomores Teams please be at practice 7AM-9AM (No practice Friday)JV/Varsity Practice 9 -11:30 and 12:30-3:30 There will be practice Friday for this team. (We would also like the the soph with the * to come to the afternoon practice with JV/Varsity

I just wanted to thank everyone who has come out for the 2017 Skyridge Volleyball team.We have been very impressed with the number of talented young ladies in the gym. It is always hard to tryout for a team and can be very scary and disappointing if you don't make it, but going through these experience can be great learning opportunities. Please know if you didn't make the team that "Volleyball is something that you do, and does not define who you are" There are many opportunities to continue to play and I encourage you to continue to participate in this wonderful sport as well as get involved in the hundreds of clubs Skyridge has to offer.

Everyone has been working so hard and it hasn't gone unnoticed. This process hasn't been easy but have been able to narrow it down to the following list. If you find you didn't make the team and would like to continue to be a member of the program we would love to have you be a manager. You can email me or come by and see before or after tryout-practice time @Coach Meyer an email .

The following girls made the first cut: (There will still be one more cut with this group)Freshman and Sophomores please be at tryouts 7AM-9AM Juniors and Seniors and * Sophomores please be at tryouts 9 -11:30 and 12:30-3:30

This year we will be attending team camp on the campus of Utah State University. The camp fee will include Room and board, team practice with USU coaching staff. Game instruction by Skyridge high team coaches. DATE July 17-21Cost $305 includes stay at dorm ( you need to bring your own linens or sleeping bag and pillow) food and coaching.Who can attend: Those that attend Falcon Skills camp will have first opportunity. Upper class-men will also have first opportunity. Spots will also be given out by position. ​9th-12th Grade (others by invitation if there is space)Please Pay online at myschoolfees.comIf you are interested in attending please fill out the following link...https://docs.google.com/a/alpinedistrict.org/spreadsheets/d/1dIA5xER8g2cIdtqD5aJ6aGyCYTB8Rlr6nJvAnIG9omk/edit?usp=sharing​

In order to tryout you need to of fill out and uploaded all form required by register my athlete. If you are a move in you will need to fill out transfer papers. Please get started on those early. Register www.registermyathlete.com/schools/

You will need a physical. We have set aside June 28th at Advanced sports med. Please see attached you will need to print and bring the physcial from with you. AFTER THE PHYSCIAL you will need to upload the physcial to RMA​​PHYSICAL FORM